As Hurricane Sandy beats a path to the East Coast and toward weather patterns that could result in a 1991-like "perfect storm," local emergency officials are using what they learned from last year's Tropical Storm Irene to help them prepare for the worst.

Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley, whose western Ulster County town was particularly hard hit by Irene in August 2011, said on Thursday that last year's storm made clear which locations are vulnerable. He noted, in particular, the Oliverea Valley, which he said could flood easily because gravel accumulated in the Esopus Creek and feeder streams during Irene.

He also noted the portal area of Shandaken -- where a New York City-owned tunnel transfers water from the Schoharie Reservoir to the Esopus Creek, which then runs into the Ashokan reservoir -- has the potential for serious flooding, though that section of terrain was reworked after Irene in an attempt to avoid future crises.

The Mount Tremper Bridge on state Route 28, which was closed due to damage from Irene, is another area of concern, Stanley said.

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"If that bridge goes and the portal location is damaged, that could bring catastrophe," he said.

Sandy was a Category 2 hurricane on Thursday as it struck Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas.

Forecasts showed Sandy skirting eastern Florida, turning northeast and then riding up the East Coast before veering inland, probably at tropical storm strength, on Monday or Tuesday. Its landfall point remained uncertain, though, with some models predicting the New York City-New Jersey area and others ranging from Virginia to Cape Cod.

Some weather experts have dubbed the system "Frankenstorm" because of its potentially monstrous size and its expected arrival just before Halloween.

If the storm does impact the local area, the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in the Highmount section of Shandaken will be used as an emergency shelter, as it was during Irene.

Belleayre also served as a Federal Emergency Management Agency information site during Irene.

Phoenicia Elementary School on state Route 214 in Phoenicia, also part of Shandaken, would serve as a shelter as well, Stanley said.

Firehouses also would be used, he said.

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein said on Thursday that it was premature to sound the alarm on Sandy but that county officials were monitoring the storm, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

"We are well aware of the possibilities, and preparation is the key," he said.

Hein, like Stanley, said emergency shelters will be available should the need arise.

Hein also said the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has assured him there is an adequate void in the city's Ashokan Reservoir than can handle abundant rain, thus reducing the risk of flooding along the Lower Esopus Creek, which the reservoir feeds.